Self-Defense/Defense of Others and the Bible

Self-defense/Defence of Others and the Bible
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Following the issuing of concealed carry laws regarding weapon possession most laws surrounding self-defense entail an initial retreat before applying deadly force to the attacker. However, the Castle Doctrine laws and the Stand Your Ground laws are exceptions to this first retreat. The Stand Your Ground Laws allows individuals to respond to threats of physical injury with deadly force without the obligation of retreating first and attack later if the danger persists upon retreat (Andone & Elkin, 2018). The Castle Doctrine allows one to allow deadly force to possible threats to his premises, residence and its inhabitants (US Legal, Inc., 2018).
The Bible has one of the most confusing views on self-defense. Several scriptures allow one to take up arms and retaliate in self-defense especially in the Old Testament while others insist on not taking action but instead do well to the offender (Grudem, 2018). However, the Bible does not promote saving one’s life at the expense of another. Instead, it insists on sacrificing one’s life to save others with the prime example being Jesus Christ who died that others may be saved similar to other martyrs mentioned in the bible.
On the scriptures favoring self-defense, in Exodus 22:2-3, if a thief breaks into a home at night, the owner can kill him, but in the day, the thief will be forced to pay instead. In Luke 22:36-39, Jesus encourages His disciples to carry swords for protection which can be linked to self-defense.

Also when Abram Kinsmen were taken captive in Genesis 14:13-16, he assembled his best-trained men to fight the offender (Compelling Truths, 2018). Many more other instances support self-defense. In contrary, in Romans 12:17, the Bible instructs to repay no evil with evil. In Mathew 5:39, Jesus teaches that when slapped on one cheek, instead of fighting, give the other. In John 18:10-11, Jesus prevented Peter from fighting back during his arrest and in Proverbs 25:21-22, the Bible, states that we should give our enemies food and bless them.
In all the above contradictions, murder as self-defense is discouraged by the Bible as the Scriptures views every individual as God’s own regardless of their deeds and every life is precious.
References
Andone, D., & Elkin, E. (2018, July 29). What you need to know about ‘stand your ground’ laws. Retrieved from https://edition.cnn.com/2018/07/29/us/stand-your-ground-law-explainer-trnd/index.html
Compelling Truths. (2018). Self-defense – What does the Bible say? Retrieved from https://www.compellingtruth.org/self-defense.html
Grudem, W. (2018, August). A Biblical Argument for Self-Defense. Retrieved from https://www.crossway.org/articles/a-biblical-argument-for-self-defense/
US Legal, Inc. (2018). Castle Doctrine Law and Legal Definition | USLegal, Inc. Retrieved from https://definitions.uslegal.com/c/castle-doctrine/